diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 23ddb35..05a5868 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ For most users, start with these:
 | `components/hermes/hermes-memory-encrypt` | Encrypts `MEMORY.md` and `USER.md` at rest with HMAC verification. |
 | `components/hermes/hermes-brain-backup` | Creates sanitized backups of agent state while excluding credentials and sessions. |
 | `components/hermes/hermes-commit-guard` | Injects commit policy and provides an optional commit-msg hook to block AI tell phrases. |
+| `components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit` | Writes redacted JSONL records for Hermes shell-hook activity without changing agent behavior. |
 | `components/hermes/hermes-context-guard` | Adds context-handling rules for safer agent behavior. |
 | `components/hermes/hermes-self-review` | Injects a final review checklist before delivery. |
 | `components/hermes/hermes-hardened-skills` | Skill prompts for common software/security roles. |
diff --git a/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/.gitignore b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c909ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+.DS_Store
+*.log
+*.jsonl
diff --git a/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/CHANGELOG.md b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e97fea6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Changelog
+
+## 0.1.0
+
+- Initial redacted Hermes shell-hook audit logger.
diff --git a/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/CONTRIBUTING.md b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dca65bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# Contributing
+
+Keep this hook observational. It should not block, rewrite, or mutate agent
+behavior.
+
+Before opening a PR from the repository root, run:
+
+```bash
+bash scripts/publish-check.sh
+```
diff --git a/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/LICENSE b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ba129f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+MIT License
+
+Copyright (c) 2026 RedBeret
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/README.md b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ab8638e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+# hermes-hook-audit
+
+Redacted JSONL audit logger for Hermes shell hooks.
+
+This component records hook activity without changing agent behavior. It always
+returns `{}` to Hermes and writes one JSON object per hook event.
+
+## What It Logs
+
+- UTC timestamp
+- hook event name
+- tool name
+- session ID
+- current working directory
+- payload size
+- command/result preview after redaction
+- command SHA-256 when a terminal command is present
+
+It does not log raw secret values. Previews are capped by
+`HERMES_HOOK_AUDIT_MAX_CHARS` and default to 300 characters.
+
+## Usage
+
+Install:
+
+```bash
+bash setup.sh
+```
+
+Add it to Hermes hook config for events you want to observe:
+
+```yaml
+hooks:
+  pre_tool_call:
+    - command: "~/.hermes/agent-hooks/audit-hook.sh"
+      timeout: 5
+  post_tool_call:
+    - command: "~/.hermes/agent-hooks/audit-hook.sh"
+      timeout: 5
+```
+
+Default log path:
+
+```text
+~/.hermes/logs/hook-audit.jsonl
+```
+
+Override:
+
+```bash
+HERMES_HOOK_AUDIT_LOG=/path/to/audit.jsonl bash audit-hook.sh
+```
+
+## Notes
+
+Store audit logs carefully. Even redacted logs may reveal project names,
+commands, or workflow metadata.
diff --git a/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/SECURITY.md b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/SECURITY.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b56e28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/SECURITY.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# Security
+
+Report issues through the repository's GitHub security advisory flow.
+
+This component is intentionally observational and must not block or mutate hook
+behavior. Treat generated audit logs as sensitive operational metadata.
diff --git a/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/audit-hook.sh b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/audit-hook.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..1bdd91a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/audit-hook.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# hermes-hook-audit: redacted JSONL audit logger for Hermes shell hooks.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+payload="$(cat -)"
+HERMES_HOME="${HERMES_HOME:-$HOME/.hermes}"
+LOG_FILE="${HERMES_HOOK_AUDIT_LOG:-$HERMES_HOME/logs/hook-audit.jsonl}"
+MAX_CHARS="${HERMES_HOOK_AUDIT_MAX_CHARS:-300}"
+
+mkdir -p "$(dirname "$LOG_FILE")"
+chmod 700 "$(dirname "$LOG_FILE")" 2>/dev/null || true
+
+if ! command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  printf '{}\n'
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if ! printf '%s' "$payload" | jq -e . >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  printf '{}\n'
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+redact() {
+  sed -E \
+    -e 's/sk-ant-[A-Za-z0-9_-]{20,}/[REDACTED]/g' \
+    -e 's/sk-or-v1-[A-Za-z0-9_-]{20,}/[REDACTED]/g' \
+    -e 's/nvapi-[A-Za-z0-9_-]{20,}/[REDACTED]/g' \
+    -e 's/AKIA[0-9A-Z]{16}/[REDACTED]/g' \
+    -e 's/ghp_[A-Za-z0-9]{36}/[REDACTED]/g' \
+    -e 's/gho_[A-Za-z0-9]{36}/[REDACTED]/g' \
+    -e 's/github_pat_[A-Za-z0-9_]{22,}/[REDACTED]/g' \
+    -e 's/glpat-[A-Za-z0-9_-]{20,}/[REDACTED]/g' \
+    -e 's/(Authorization:[[:space:]]*Bearer[[:space:]]+)[^[:space:]"'\'']+/\1[REDACTED]/Ig' \
+    -e 's/(token|api[_-]?key|secret|password)=([^[:space:]&;]+)/\1=[REDACTED]/Ig'
+}
+
+hash_text() {
+  if command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    printf '%s' "$1" | sha256sum | awk '{print $1}'
+  elif command -v shasum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    printf '%s' "$1" | shasum -a 256 | awk '{print $1}'
+  else
+    printf ''
+  fi
+}
+
+truncate_preview() {
+  local text="$1"
+  local max="$2"
+  printf '%s' "$text" | awk -v max="$max" '{ text = text $0 ORS } END { printf "%s", substr(text, 1, max) }'
+}
+
+ts="$(date -u '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')"
+event="$(printf '%s' "$payload" | jq -r '.hook_event_name // .event // empty')"
+tool_name="$(printf '%s' "$payload" | jq -r '.tool_name // empty')"
+session_id="$(printf '%s' "$payload" | jq -r '.session_id // empty')"
+cwd="$(printf '%s' "$payload" | jq -r '.cwd // empty')"
+command_text="$(printf '%s' "$payload" | jq -r '.tool_input.command // .args.command // empty')"
+result_text="$(printf '%s' "$payload" | jq -r '.result // empty')"
+
+preview_source="$command_text"
+preview_kind="command"
+if [ -z "$preview_source" ] && [ -n "$result_text" ]; then
+  preview_source="$result_text"
+  preview_kind="result"
+fi
+
+preview="$(printf '%s' "$preview_source" | redact)"
+preview="$(truncate_preview "$preview" "$MAX_CHARS")"
+command_hash=""
+if [ -n "$command_text" ]; then
+  command_hash="$(hash_text "$command_text")"
+fi
+payload_bytes="$(printf '%s' "$payload" | wc -c | tr -d ' ')"
+
+jq -nc \
+  --arg ts "$ts" \
+  --arg event "$event" \
+  --arg tool_name "$tool_name" \
+  --arg session_id "$session_id" \
+  --arg cwd "$cwd" \
+  --arg preview_kind "$preview_kind" \
+  --arg preview "$preview" \
+  --arg command_hash "$command_hash" \
+  --argjson payload_bytes "$payload_bytes" \
+  '{
+    ts: $ts,
+    event: $event,
+    tool_name: $tool_name,
+    session_id: $session_id,
+    cwd: $cwd,
+    payload_bytes: $payload_bytes,
+    preview_kind: $preview_kind,
+    preview: $preview,
+    command_sha256: $command_hash
+  }' >> "$LOG_FILE"
+
+chmod 600 "$LOG_FILE" 2>/dev/null || true
+printf '{}\n'
diff --git a/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/setup.sh b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/setup.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..bd3cacd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/setup.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+HERMES_HOME="${HERMES_HOME:-$HOME/.hermes}"
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+
+echo "hermes-hook-audit setup"
+echo "-----------------------"
+
+command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo "jq found" || { echo "jq required: brew install jq / apt install jq"; exit 1; }
+
+mkdir -p "$HERMES_HOME/agent-hooks" "$HERMES_HOME/logs"
+cp "$SCRIPT_DIR/audit-hook.sh" "$HERMES_HOME/agent-hooks/audit-hook.sh"
+chmod +x "$HERMES_HOME/agent-hooks/audit-hook.sh"
+
+echo "Installed audit-hook.sh to $HERMES_HOME/agent-hooks/"
+echo ""
+echo "Add to ~/.hermes/config.yaml:"
+echo ""
+echo "hooks:"
+echo "  pre_tool_call:"
+echo "    - command: \"~/.hermes/agent-hooks/audit-hook.sh\""
+echo "      timeout: 5"
+echo "  post_tool_call:"
+echo "    - command: \"~/.hermes/agent-hooks/audit-hook.sh\""
+echo "      timeout: 5"
diff --git a/docs/COMPONENTS.md b/docs/COMPONENTS.md
index a5e7302..e2285df 100644
--- a/docs/COMPONENTS.md
+++ b/docs/COMPONENTS.md
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ own README and setup script.
 - Safe terminal: stops commands likely to destroy data or leak credentials.
 - Commit guard: reminds the agent of commit rules and can block AI-attribution
   commit messages with a `commit-msg` hook.
+- Hook audit: records redacted shell-hook activity for later review.
 
 ## Scanners and Gates
 
diff --git a/scripts/smoke-test.sh b/scripts/smoke-test.sh
index fc30629..7bf0282 100755
--- a/scripts/smoke-test.sh
+++ b/scripts/smoke-test.sh
@@ -91,4 +91,17 @@ fi
 grep -q 'Result: FAIL' /tmp/ask-mcp-bad.out
 ok "mcp guard"
 
+audit_dir=$(mktemp -d)
+audit_log="$audit_dir/hook-audit.jsonl"
+audit_payload="{\"hook_event_name\":\"pre_tool_call\",\"tool_name\":\"terminal\",\"session_id\":\"s1\",\"cwd\":\"$audit_dir\",\"tool_input\":{\"command\":\"curl -H 'Authorization: Bearer ${fake_key}' https://example.com\"}}"
+out=$(printf '%s\n' "$audit_payload" | HERMES_HOOK_AUDIT_LOG="$audit_log" bash components/hermes/hermes-hook-audit/audit-hook.sh)
+[ "$out" = '{}' ]
+[ -s "$audit_log" ]
+if grep -q "$fake_key" "$audit_log"; then
+  echo "hook audit log leaked fake key" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+grep -q '\[REDACTED\]' "$audit_log"
+ok "hook audit"
+
 printf 'all smoke tests passed\n'